Alpha x Kirbopher Drabble Series
by ravenpie52
Summary: These take place is Chris Niosi's Terrain of Magical Expertise. The shippers for this pairing are in very small amount, so I am contributing! This also works as my practice for writing romance. The chapters will be full of spoilers, so watch out!
1. Angst

**This is super short and more of a look into characters' thoughts than a story.**

Nylock's comment came as a bit of a surprise. Kirbopher had never noticed how excited he became whenever Alpha logged on. He just wanted to fight him and hang out, that wasn't anything special, was it?

Was it?

Alpha had Flamey anyways, they were all chummy together. Together… Thinking about them together made his stomach burn. Was he seriously jealous? He shouldn't be sticking his nose in their business, he had no right to. He was lying to Alpha, to all of them. He had a job to do, a very important job at that. But, with Alpha infected with the virus, wasn't Alpha his job too?

It was all very confusing. He wasn't sure how Kizuna saw all of this; he had a feeling that it was negative. If he did have feelings for Alpha, he would just have to push it aside and focus on the task at hand.

Maybe he shouldn't have become friends with everyone in the first place.

* * *

Kirb had become more distant lately. He wasn't sure why and it really bothered him. Did he not battle him enough before? Was he spending too much time with Flamey and ignoring his other friends? He couldn't bear the thought of losing Kirb, he was the first person that he met on TOME! Was it something that he said? He wondered why Kirb hadn't said anything...

He always opted out of hacker business… Maybe he didn't want to take part in such dangerous activities. He still felt awful about that time that he hurt Kirb when he lost control. Was Kirb afraid of him? Oh no! That would be awful! He didn't want to lose such a good friend.

Maybe all those other people were right; maybe he was just too different to keep friends.


	2. Triangle Trouble

**Have something fluffy! This includes my headcanons of Kirb being older than Alpha and that he is really book smart.**

**EDIT: My headcanon ages were totally destroyed with the finale, this is now an AU. (One where Alpha is young enough to be taking classes that involve trig.) **¯\\(°_o)/¯

* * *

It was one of those days when the whole group didn't get on together. Flamey and Nylock were busy and Gamecrazed was nowhere to be found. Kirbopher wandered around in Lavendera, looking for people to fight. He was thinking of just quitting for the day when he noticed Alpha log-on. Alpha held a contemplative look on his face, like he was thinking over something really important.

Kirb walked over to Alpha. "Hey man, what's going on? You look like you were asked about the meaning of life or something."

Alpha looked up and gave a small smile. "Oh hey Kirb. I was just thinking about my math homework."

Kirb laughed. "You're such a nerd. Can't stop thinking about school can you?"

"It's not like that!" Alpha gave a small chuckle and pushed Kirb's shoulder.

They started walking together toward Mechcity.

"So, what is it about the math homework that you were thinking about?" Kirb was a little curious.

"Well, there's this part in the trigonometry lesson we learned today that I didn't fully grasp. I don't think that I did the homework right because of that. I'm a bit worried about what the teacher's gonna say to me tomorrow..." Alpha rubbed the back of his neck with his hand.

"Want me to help you?" Kirb asked suddenly.

Alpha quickly turned to face Kirb. "Woah, seriously?!"

"Haha, yeah man! I'm actually pretty good at that kind of stuff."

Pretty good was an understatement. You didn't just get to test the VR Tech for Netking Software based on looks alone. It took some brains to get the job.

"You'll really help me?"

"Yeah, ask me anything!"

Alpha grinned."Okay, so when you use the law of cosines…."


	3. Happy Holidays

**This was because of the TOME holiday video.**

Snow crunched under Kirbopher's feet. "Huh, that's pretty cool."

As a way to celebrate the holidays, TOME adopted a festive look. There was snow on the ground and decorations for all sorts of holiday celebrations were spread everywhere. They seemed to be pulling out all the stocks for this. Kirb noticed a few people playing a snowman building mini-game that the mods had set up.

It was Christmas day and Kirb could tell that a large number of players weren't online because of it. The only reason that he was online was… well… An empty apartment didn't hold much Christmas cheer. He was much happier playing his favorite game than lazing around his apartment. It was pretty lonely though, maybe somebody he knew was online. Kirb checked his list of saved users to see who was on.

What? Alpha was online? Didn't he celebrate Christmas?

Kirb looked at Alpha's username in his list. "He's in Sanctuary? Might as well say hello!"

Kirbopher ran over to Sanctuary looking for Alpha. He finally found him watching a few users build a snowman.

"Yo, Alpha! Fancy meeting you here today!"

Alpha turned around and waved at Kirb. "Oh hey, it's good seeing you!"

Kirb waved back. They both walked toward each other and met at the middle.

"What are you doing here man? Not that I mind but, why aren't you doing Christmas stuff with family?"

Alpha clasped his hands behind his back and answered. "I wanted to give Mom some space for now."

He was looking a bit past Kirbopher at a few decorations and he probably didn't realize what he had just said.

Kirb thought for a moment, 'Give Mom some space? Why not pare…. Oh. That could explain some things…'

"Kirb?"

Kirbopher snapped back to Alpha waving his hand in front of Kirb's face.

"Wha-? Oh. Well, as long as we're both on here, wanna check out the decorations? They went all out."

"Sure, that sounds like fun!"

They hadn't noticed it, but it had started snowing. Kirb opened his hand and caught a flake.

"Wow. It's seriously snowing."

Alpha kept looking at the snowmen being built.

"Kirb, want to play the snowman mini-game together?"

Kirbopher looked over at everyone having fun. It seemed nice.

"Sure."


	4. Snooze

"I'm sure she'll be here soon, she must have been caught up somewhere."

Alpha, checked his in-game clock. He, Kirbopher, and Gamecrazed had been waiting for Flamegirl to show up for nearly forty-five minutes. They were going to meet up and do a quest that Flamey had found out about, but they might not be able to do it if they had to wait much longer. Kirb had recently sat cross-legged on a boulder and Alpha had begun to pace.

"It's getting late." GC stated.

"Yeah, it's the middle of the week too... Maybe I'll shoot her a PM, let her know that we decided to hit the hay?"

"That might be for the best." GC looked over toward Kirb.

He was still sitting cross-legged, but his eyes were closed and he was breathing deeply. Kirb had fallen asleep. Alpha brought a hand to his mouth and snickered. Everyone in their circle of friends sometimes fell asleep while logged in, but it was pretty rare. Alpha looked at Kirb.

'He's pretty cute when he's not being all angry… Wait what?!'

GC interrupted Alpha's thoughts, "He should probably be woken up."

"O-oh yeah, right! Okay then..."

Alpha stood in front of Kirb and called his name, "Kiiirb. Kiiiirb!"

Kirbopher didn't wake up. Alpha took a deep breath.

"KIRBOPHER!"

"FWAAAAAH!"

Kirb flailed his arms and fell off the boulder. He got back up with a huff and glared at Alpha.

"Give me a heart attack, will ya?"

They all heard laughing in the distance. Everyone looked over and saw Flamey.

Alpha waved. "Hey Flamey! You're finally here!"

Flamey ran over to the group.

"Sorry I'm so late! My parents sprung some chores on me randomly and I had to get them done."

"It's not a problem." GC assured her.

"So, are we going to do the quest?" Alpha asked.

"I think we should wait 'till tomorrow instead." Flamey smiled at Kirb. "_Someone _needs to get their beauty sleep!"

"Oh, lay off! I just haven't slept the best recently…" He wasn't going to tell them why though…

"Okay, okay." Alpha raised his hands. "Calm down. We'll meet up tomorrow for the quest, then?"

"Yeah, whatever." Kirb grumbled.

They all exchanged good-byes, then logged off as Gamecrazed disappeared.


	5. Back Pain

**This is an AU where the characters are actual fantasy creatures. If you want to read a longer fic in this sort of AU check out Unicornfoal's "Friends in a Strange Place" on AO3. It's really well written and a fantastic read. **

* * *

Alpha knocked on Kirb's door. Kirb had messaged his friends to help carry some boxes out of his house. He had recently cleared out his basement and the boxes were too cumbersome for an imp like him.

Kirbopher opened the door and let Alpha inside.

"Thanks for helping me out man.", He paused. "I could totally carry all of these boxes myself if it wasn't for me spraining my ankle earlier you know."

"Right…", Alpha replied skeptically.

They both went downstairs and started on the heavier boxes. Kirb grabbed one side of a box and Alpha grabbed the other. They both brought it upstairs and set it outside the front door. Both of them continued this process for a while until Alpha let out a surprised yelp. They set the box down.

"Hey, Alpha, you alright?"

The angel sat down on a stool. He tried rubbing his back in between the wings, but wasn't able to reach.

"Yeah, I just got a back cramp. I get them sometimes because of the wings. It's no big deal. It'll go away eventually."

Kirb moved behind Alpha. "How about I just…"

He began massaging Alpha's back where he was trying to reach earlier.

"No, you don't have to do anythi-Oh, that feels reeeaalllyy good."

"Heh, glad to hear it. Do you need it anywhere else?"

"No….no…just there is perfect, thank you."

They sat there for a little bit. Alpha gave out a few hums and groans as Kirb massaged the knots in his back. Kirb slowly realized what kind of situation they were in and tried to ignore the sounds that Alpha was making. He instead focused on Alpha's wings. He had never gotten this close a look at them. They were incredibly soft and fluffy looking. He resisted the urge to touch them, hard as it was. He was beginning to get embarrassed, but Alpha seemed to really need this.

They all had been stressed lately. Business with the forbidden power had put everybody on edge, especially him and Alpha. He wasn't surprised that Alpha had a few aches and pains. The forbidden power must put a huge toll on him. He would make sure to get rid of it as soon as he could. Kirb's thoughts were brought back to the situation when Alpha's back arched and he spread out his wings after a particular spot was massaged. Yes, this was getting fairly awkward for him.

Suddenly, they heard the sound of Kirb's front door swinging open.

"SQUIRE!", Nylocke yelled into the house, "I have arrived to assist thee in thy perilous task!"

Nylocke walked downstairs. He eyed the two of them for a moment. Kirb was still touching Alpha's back and both were looking at him.

"I had no idea that we were also partaking in a session of grooming! Of this I am particularly grateful! For I am: NYLOCKE, DRAGON OF SHEDDING SCALES!"

"That's NOT WHAT WE'RE DOING NYE!", Kirb yelled.

"Then, what is happening instead?"

Alpha stood up with a smile. "Kirb was just helping me. I feel a lot better now though. With you here, we can get the work done faster."

Kirbopher stood there for a moment with a tiny blush on his face. "Yeah…Let's get back to work then."

Wow, that whole situation was weird.

"But not entirely bad…", Kirb thought.

* * *

**In this AU, Kirbopher is a shape shifter, just to let everyone know. It was the easiest way to make Kirb and Zetto the same person.**

**Also, I'm very sorry for the wait. **


	6. Matchmaker

**In my defense, Gamecrazed is terribly difficult to write. It ended up being short and sweet because that's just how he talks. I just thought it would be nice to see a different point of view. **

**EDIT: Hey um, episode 15 happened... Pretend this is an AU where Gamecrazed is a normal person?**

* * *

Nylocke informed me that he had a plan of sorts. I had no idea what it was about, but he was my friend so I decided to go along with it anyway. He informed me of something that he had figured out about Kirbopher and Alpha. I had already known about it however. The two of them didn't seem to notice how they looked at each other sometimes.

Nylocke's plan was an interesting one, but it seemed a bit invasive. He was able to get me to work with him eventually though; Nylocke is hard to say no to at times. We managed to get both Alpha and Kirbopher together alone. We had set a meeting point to practice battling. Nylocke and I stayed away from the spot for a little while. Nylocke wanted to watch, so we ended up hiding near them. We couldn't hear them talking, but I could tell that it wasn't going anywhere. Nylocke began to get restless and came up with another plan.

We walked to the meeting spot and gave an excuse for being late. Nylocke proposed the idea that we team up for battles. Alpha and Kirbopher ended up paired together of course. It ended up being pleasant. I could tell that they were having fun. I don't think Nylocke's plan succeeded as much as he wanted though. Next time if he asks me to help with any more plans like this, I'll probably decline.

* * *

**Hey, don't you think that the ship name "Gamelocked" sounds perfect for Gamecrazed and Nylocke? I think it fits them well. Wink.**


	7. Dress Up

**Here's longer one.**

* * *

Kirbopher scowled and sat impatiently on a bench. Alpha and him were at a special shop in Mechcity that allowed you to make changes to your avatar.

"I can't believe we're going along with Nye's color coordination thing."

Alpha spoke behind a changing curtain, "Aw come on, we'll be like the Power Rangers."

"Then why do you get to be the red one? Why am I stuck as the less cool, Blue Ranger?"

"It fits me better."

Kirb tsked, "Yeah, I guess."

He hated it when Alpha was right. Red did suit him better. He already had red hair to begin with, so it made sense. Nylocke was so adamant about this idea that it was impossible to say no. Kirbopher honestly thought he looked stupid. He changed a lot faster than Alpha and he was beginning to wonder what was taking so long.

It was a bit nice, however. Everyone being color-coordinated did make them feel like a tighter knit group. It left a little warm feeling inside. Being included and all…

Alpha stepped out of the changing room.

"Tadaah! How do I look? Good enough for a Red Ranger?"

It really did suit him. He no longer had bangs to hide is face. That was a relief. It showed that he was more comfortable around everyone. His blue eyes were even more striking when surrounded by red. He even had the greek letter _alpha_ on his shirt to top it all off.

"Yeah! You look good!"

"Thanks, you do too."

Really? Well, okay then. If he says so, then Kirb guesses it might be ok.

Alpha said, "Come on, let's go meet the others and see their changes!"

Kirb followed him, thinking about colors and what meanings they had behind them. Red was usually linked with fire, like Alpha's Vulcan Fist? Blue was cold, possibly like his blade. But it can mean other things, quiet, calculating, and another definition of the word cold... He didn't like how well that fit him at times. Purple has an air of mystery and magic. Yellow feels positive and powerful, like the sun. Green is the color of life and imagination. Red is… passion and warmth, but it seems to hide an anger within.

It was almost terrifying how well these colors fit him and his friends.

They eventually made it to where everyone else was. All of them had made significant changes to their avatar…except-

"GC! YOU BARELY CHANGED YOUR AVATAR!", Kirb shouted.

"I'm already a solid color, there isn't much to change."

* * *

**Yay, headcanon for character design changes! I honestly don't like them that much, partially because I DON'T HAVE THAT MANY DIFFERENT SHADES OF COLORED PENCILS TO WORK WITH! Sigh. I also find them a bit gaudy, but I will go along with it.**


	8. Panic Attack

**Wow, that is a lot of views. I didn't expect this to be that popular. Seriously guys? Nearly 800? Either a select few keep reading this over and over again or I am rising on the ladder of popularity. **

* * *

It had been another one of their planned get-togethers. Alpha and Kirbopher decided to meet up and battle "chumps" for some EXP grinding. They were in for a surprise, however, when they tried to enter Lavendera.

"**NOTICE: BATTLING AND BATTLE SPECIFIC AREAS ARE CLOSED DOWN FOR UPDATES**"

"Aw, this blows!" Kirbopher said, crossing his arms

"Oh well. I guess we can still hang out in Mechcity."

"And what? People-watch?"

Alpha shrugged, "I guess?"

Kirb huffed, "Fine, let's go."

They both sat at the park bench together and sat in silence. Sometimes they would see someone with a really interesting avatar and discuss it. Other times they would wonder what in the world some people were thinking. It was going really well…until…

A black dragon with yellow markings walked by and stood near them.

The avatar hadn't looked exactly like it. And Alpha hadn't even seen what its true form was. For some reason though, this still caused a reaction. Alpha tensed up. He started breathing quickly and tried to form words, but was only to make the first sounds.

"Kih…. heh muh, nnn."

Kirbopher stared at Alpha.

"Alpha, what's wrong?"

He suddenly understood. 'He's having a panic attack or something! What do I do?!'

He held Alpha's shoulder. Even if he couldn't feel it, maybe it would help. There were times like these that a way of physical response across the game would be good.

Kirb spoke in a firm voice, "Alpha, I need you to look at me."

No response.

"Alpha! Urgh, Michael! Look at me! Not at him, ME!"

Alpha turned to look at Kirbopher. His face looked terrified.

"Come on, that's it, just calm down. Look at my stupid, round face. That's it."

Alpha's breathing calmed down eventually. He smiled at Kirb.

"Thank you Kirb. I don't know what happened."

Kirbopher let out a sigh.

"It's okay man. Stuff like that happens to a lot of people.

Just… try your best not to do it again.

It was really scary."

* * *

**This was based on Alpha reacting to the shadow idol, even though he had never seen the virus' true form before. Not to mention that it was mainly the virus reacting, not him, but give me some slack. **

**(Story ideas are actually really tough for these characters considering that they can only interact in one setting with specific guidelines. I could go into AUs where they all come into contact outside of the game regularly but I'm trying to challenge myself with this. If you have a good drabble idea that takes place in the game, message it to me. I might end up using it.)**


	9. American Idol

**I felt like writing an argument. So, this is pretty much only dialogue and it is very short. Sorry! Think of this as a snack or something until I get a really good idea.**

* * *

"Hey Kirb, how are you today?"

Kirbopher turned towards Alpha. "I dunno. Fine I guess. You?"

"It's been good. Oh hey, did you see the new episode of American Idol last night?"

"Totally, do you have anybody you think is going to win?"

"Well I'm betting mostly on Wilma myself."

Kirb scoffed, "Wilma Kerr was terrible this round, she kept getting flat on her notes! I think a better pick would be Joe."

Alpha began using larger hand gestures."Come on! Joe Foreman just sticks to the music with how it is and doesn't give it his own touch. At least Wilma takes some risks!"

"Risks don't matter if you can't hit the right notes, dummy!"

"I could sing better than him! He gives it no heart!"

Kirb stopped. "Wait, what did you just say?"

He crossed his arms and began grinning. Alpha took a step back.

"Nothing! I didn't say anything."

"Something about you singing? Now I'm curious. You never mentioned anything about singing before."

"Nope, Nu-uh. I am not having this conversation!"

And with that, Alpha logged out.

Kirb shouted and shook his fist in the air, "COWARD!"

He smirked. "I'll get him next time."

* * *

**I like the idea that Alpha is great at singing like Shadyvox, but is extremely shy about it. Also, these two geeking over stuff gives me life.**

**Thanks to Kratt Trio for the inspiration, even though Alpha and Kirb skating together turned into dancing together which turned into them arguing over a dance competition that then turned into American Idol. Because I know barely anything about dancing to be able to make critiques. **


	10. Escort Mission

**I forgot quests were a thing. Oops!**

* * *

Kirbopher just wouldn't stop complaining about this quest that they were on.

"And what kind of accent is that? Is it supposed to be a New York accent?! Out of all the accents that they chose, why that one? And why a DOG?! THIS QUEST IS RIDICULOUS!"

Alpha sighed. This was going to be agonizing. They had chosen the quest because of the interesting name, but now they knew how much of a mistake that was. They were greeted by a talking dog. He told them that they had to help him re-unite with his master. The quest seemed innocent enough, but what they didn't know was that they would be confronted by enemies all along the way. Small enemies were created to help players grind. It certainly helps people if they have trouble finding people to spar with, but constantly having them swarm you really got old, fast.

"Heroes!" the dog called out, "The scent of my master leads into this cave!"

What also got old really fast was how this scent led absolutely EVERYWHERE! The both of them had been following this dog for nearly an hour and the end didn't even seem close.

"I would've quit by now if the reward wasn't amazing." Kirb scowled.

A large pack of experience was given to players upon completion of the quest. This was what made them stick around, but their patience was wavering greatly.

"Listen Kirb. I understand that you're annoyed, I am too, but we have put in too much to quit now!"

Alpha raised his hand into the air dramatically, only for the dog to cry out.

"Quick heroes! Crystalfrags are attacking!"

Kirb quickly took out the majority of them with a Dust Tornado while Alpha finished off the rest with a Vulcan Fist. They finished just in time to see the dog exiting the cave. Reluctantly, the two of them trudged along after the dog. The same dog began to climb a mountain.

"Since WHEN did we have a giant mountain?!" Kirb screamed

Alpha grumbled, "This is duuumb…"

They both walked in awkward silence up the mountain, casually glancing at each other. Both wanted to have a conversation to stem the boredom, but neither knew where to start.

"So…uh, what's the weather been like recently?" Kirb asked hesitantly

"Really? We're going with weather, of all topics?"

"Just answer the question, dork."

Alpha hummed for a moment. "It's been pretty rainy recently I guess."

Kirb grinned, "Oh man, where I'm living right now, it rains all the time!"

"That must get tiring. I'm just glad that we haven't gotten really big storms recently. Ones that cause damage, you know?"

A loud rumbling was heard nearby. Both looked up suddenly to see a rock slide heading toward them.

"NO WAY!" they both shouted

Alpha and Kirb ran for their in-game lives.

"Alpha! The dog! Get the dog!" Kirb yelled

Alpha dodged rocks as best as he could and picked up the dog. They ran as fast as they could. Boulders rolled around them everywhere. Dust was kicking up, and Kirbopher had trouble seeing Alpha. He began to panic a bit. If they died, then all of the work had been for nothing! Kirb reached the bottom of the mountain and began looking for Alpha among the slowly disappearing rocks. He managed to see Alpha bust out of a pile of rocks shouting:

"This quest SUCKS!"

"…Is the dog okay?"

"Yeah, he didn't lose very much health."

"Thank god."

The dog leapt out of Alpha's arms and headed towards the forest. He quickly barked at them, telling them to hurry up. Both glared at the dog while following him. They were very close to killing the thing. It would have to wait though, because a swarm of giant wasps began attacking them.

"If we aren't at the end soon I am going to be even angrier!" Kirb yelled while stabbing several wasps

When they had finally cleared up the enemies, the dog approached a clearing.

"Is is here that my master waits!"

"FINALLY!" Kirbopher nearly kissed the ground.

Both of their grins faded when they saw what was in the clearing. A small statue of a man stood. Flowers grew around it. The dog sat in front of the statue.

"Thank you for taking me to my master's resting place. Now, I will be able to say my final goodbyes."

Kirb nearly blew a fuse. "No, no! They don't get to put in some half baked ending like that! We deserve something better!"

A notification popped up. Alpha and Kirbopher received their experience.

Kirb un-sheathed his sword. "I'm killing it."

"What?!" Alpha yelled, "No way, I want to kill it! I nearly got crushed by rocks!"

Both of them continued to argue. They didn't notice everything disappearing until it was too late.

Alpha started to look around."The dog! He's gone!"

"WHAT?!"

A little bit later, people could see a quest giving dog with two people standing beside it.

"Whatever you do, do not take this quest." The taller one would say.

The shorter one would yell out, "It is TERRIBLE! Run! Your free time is at stake!"

* * *

**Inspiration taken from Skyrim and TOME: Respec. Yay, my longest chapter yet.**


	11. Hot Pockets

**Here you go everybody, three small chapters for you to enjoy! I got through my rut and felt inspired. **

* * *

There were even more messages today. His inbox was nearly full at this point. This was getting ridiculous, and Alpha didn't even know WHY it was happening. He figured that the only way to find out would be to ask the source.

"Kirb, why in the world are you spamming my inbox with recipes?"

Kirbopher crossed his arms. "It's for your own good."

"Is this because of the Hot Pockets conversation that we had a few days ago?"

Kirb raised his arms. "Of COURSE it's because of that conversation! Hot Pockets shouldn't be something you eat regularly man! They are totally unhealthy!"

"It's not like I eat them every day!" Alpha was already getting tired of this.

"That's still too much!"

"Listen, they are fast to make, affordable, and they taste really good."

"You can _make_ food like that too you know."

"I think I can take care of my own diet Kirb." Alpha deadpanned

Kirb pouted, "Humph, I was just trying to help…"

"Well, I appreciate it, but could you stop? You are seriously crowding my inbox."

Kirb overdramatically bent his head back, "Fiiiine!"

Alpha grinned. "Thanks. "

_~Later~_

**Message from: Kirbopher Subject: Chicken Parmesan**

"KIIIRB!"


	12. Nickname

**OTP prompts are my savior.**

* * *

Kirb wasn't in the best mood today. In fact, he was downright grumpy. When he found Alpha standing around, he chose him as the recipient for one of his angry rants. Kirb cleared his throat, preparing for his long-winded rant.

"Oh, hey Kirby." Alpha said absentmindedly

Alpha immediately realized his mistake. Kirb seemed a bit ticked off already, and Alpha did not want to incur his wrath.

"Oh, sorry! I know you hate it when people call you that, but it was an accident! I wasn't thinking clearly, honest."

Kirbopher stood silently, a very deep crimson. Alpha backed off. Was he going to explode?

Kirb covered his face with his hands.

"N-No, it's fine Alpha." He managed to stutter out

"Really? Because I know that you hate it."

"I actually…" Kirb looked away, "don't mind when you say it…"

"Oh."

This was awkward.

"But, DON'T go around saying it when others are around…it might, um, spread and become a nuisance or something."

Kirb nearly hit himself over that sentence. What was he, some dumb schoolgirl?

"Well, okay. I guess I'll try not to overuse it then." Alpha rubbed his neck.

"Yeah…um."

Kirb had to think fast, how could he fix this situation? Got it.

"SO, as I was going to say, this guy was TOTALLY RUDE TO ME TODAY!"

"What happened?"

Saved it, barely.


	13. Reconciliation

**I decided to skip forward in time for this one. I suddenly really wanted to write this scene and couldn't wait until later in my sort of "drabble timeline".**

* * *

Both Alpha and Zetto sat at a campfire in Lavendera's forest. Nobody was sure what was going to happen to TOME with everything that had happened. For now, some things needed to be settled.

"So, you and Kirb, huh?"

Zetto sighed, "Yeah…"

Alpha looked down and played with his hands, "I'm sorry."

"What?"

"I can't even imagine how much pressure you were feeling. It must have been really tough, right? I was probably really hard to work with. In retrospect, I acted brashly when it came to the Forbidden Power."

Zetto turned more toward Alpha. "No, I'M sorry! You got tangled up in this mess, and you've suffered a lot because of it. I should've told everyone sooner, but…I was terrified. Terrified of what you'd think of me. I was a coward, and a liar."

Alpha and Zetto locked eyes. "We were both afraid, and that caused us to make bad decisions."

"I just…wish I could make it up somehow is all."

"How about…" Alpha made a questioning smile, "flying out with the rest of us to meet in person?"

Zetto was shocked.

"Y-You really mean that? After everything that I-"

"Of course, stupid! What, I wouldn't invite one of my best friends?"

Zetto started to tear up.

"Aww! Don't cry on me man."

"I'm not crying! Sh-Shut up! YOU'RE CRYING!"

"Haha, maybe a little bit…"


	14. It Was An Accident I Swear

Kirbopher and Alpha were having their usual sparring session when things started to get intense. Alpha was playing on the defense and dragging out the battle. This of course was annoying Kirb to no end.

"Come on man! This can't be everything you have."

Alpha smirked, "I'm just using strategy Kirb, you should try it sometime."

Kirb's sword clashed with an Orion shield. However, his sword came in at a wrong angle and slipped. Kirbopher fell forward and Alpha's shield disappeared in his surprise.

"Woah!"

"Oof!"

Kirb sat up in an instant and realized what position they were in. Alpha was sprawled out and he was sitting on his hips.

"Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God!" blared through his head

Alpha opened his eyes. "What happ-WOAH!"

Kirb flailed his arms around and stood as fast as he could. "Sorry! Sorry!"

Alpha got up quickly too, his eyes wide open. They both stood there, avoiding eye contact. Both wanted to leave very badly, but the battlegrid was stopping that from happening. They would have to interact.

Alpha crossed his arms, "You good?"

"Yeah…you?"

"Fine."

A moment of silence passed.

"You sure?"

"Yeah, it's nothing. Really."

Kirb huffed, "Well okay then. Let's just forget that happened and move on."

"Sure, I agree with tha-"

Kirb quickly pulled a finishing move on Alpha, taking the win for himself. When the battlegrid came down, he ran as fast as his short legs could carry him.

Alpha groaned on the ground, "Cheeaaateeerrr."

When Kirbopher was far enough away, he sat down on the ground and crossed his arms.

"That was terrible. Absolutely terrible."

A blush rose to his face and he covered it with his hands. Gosh, that was so _embarrassing_. Not to mention that he felt a return of feelings he wasn't able to recognize. Things just weren't going right for him were they? Why did being with Alpha have to be so complicated? He was getting tired of it. It's like every force imaginable was making sure he couldn't play his game in peace.


	15. Cat Chat

Alpha liked it best when Kirb was happy. A lot of the time he acted grumpy and stubborn. But sometimes? Sometimes Kirb was happy, _really_ happy, and Alpha couldn't get enough of it. Kirb always has a huge smile and his eyes sparkle with enthusiasm when he is happy. What were they talking about that had led to such a joyful marshmallow swordsman? Cats.

"And their paws are just so cute, ya know?"

It was honestly adorable how excited Kirbopher got over cats.

"I have a cat."

Kirb's arms spread out. "You do?! You never told me! That's awesome; I wish I could have a cat."

"Well why don't you?" Alpha's head tilted in confusion.

Kirb paused and hugged his arm, "I can't really take care of one properly right now. I'll get one eventually."

Alpha could tell that the mood had gone somber. He wanted to bring back the Kirb that was here before.

"My favorite part is their ears. I love how velvety they feel."

Kirb's eyes lit up again. Success.

"I know, right? Not to mention that they are totally smarter than dogs, I don't care what other people think. If an animal can take care of itself and not depend on you for everything, than it is definitely smarter."

"You don't even have to bathe them!"

Kirb started laughing, "Imagine how hard it would be to bathe a cat regularly. That would suck!"

"Have you ever seen a cat with the tip of their tongue sticking out?"

"Oh yeah, that's the best!"

Alpha wondered sometimes why Kirbopher couldn't be this happy more of the time. Was that just his normal disposition, or was there something more that was going on? He didn't want to pry, of course. Alpha supposed that he would just find out eventually, or maybe never. It was all up to Kirb when he would tell.


	16. Night Terrors

Nightmares weren't uncommon for Christopher. He could usually just shrug them off, but this time was different. In his dream, he was fighting against the beta shadowguard beast and it was a losing battle. Alpha was there, which he didn't question. Dreams were like that. Even if something didn't make sense, you just went along with it. Alpha was running towards him and screaming. It all happened so fast, but at the same time, so slow. Before he knew it, Alpha had pushed him aside and three massive claws were gouged through him. He woke up after that.

He didn't know quite why he felt more panicked than usual. The dream wasn't too different from others that he had before. Why was this one so different? Was it the way that Alpha got hurt this time? Or was it because he was pushed out of the way, and Alpha took the attack instead? He didn't know. What he did know, was that he wanted to see Alpha, see for himself that he was safe.

It was a surprise when he saw that Alpha was indeed online, at an ungodly hour even. Kirb sent a message to Alpha with shaking hands:

**Hey Alpha, don't ask what it was about, but I…kinda had a nightmare and I need you right now…**

It didn't take long at all for Alpha to find where Kirb was. He was understandably concerned. Kirbopher had never done anything like this. This must've been one bad dream. When Alpha arrived, he could see Kirb visibly relax.

Alpha sat down next to him. "Hey, you alright?"

Kirbopher sighed and hugged his torso.

"No, not really."

"You don't want to talk about the dream, I'm assuming."

"Yeah, no."

Alpha put his hand on Kirb's shoulder.

"Look, it was just a dream, it isn't real. You have to remember that."

"But it _could_ be real." Kirb thought, "If I mess up. If everything doesn't go according to plan…"

Kirbopher looked worse than when they started. Alpha needed to give out some advice or something that would actually work.

"If you get stressed about something, or if something is bothering you and you don't feel like talking about it, know that you can come to me to help take the load off."

A sigh."Yeah, I know."

Alpha looked into Kib's eyes, "You good?"

Kirbopher gave a small smile.

"Yeah, I'm good."

Kirbopher paused for a moment then said, "Wait, why were up at this hour?"

"Oh! I had been up working on a project for school. I decided to relax a bit before going to bed."

"That's a dumb reason to be up."

"Well, are you glad I was?"

"…Yeah, thanks."


End file.
